BLACKS VINDICATED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23275, 18 February 1939, Page 4 (Supplement)

BLACKS VINDICATED

AN ABORIGINAL DETECTIVE

By W.J.

A trenchant attack on those who Jiare habitually depicted the Australian aboriginal as dull-witted and as a subject suitable only for illustration in a comic paper is made by Arthur W. Upfield in his latest Detective-Inspector Bonaparte mystery story "The Bone is Pointed," In a palatable and intriguing narrative Mr. Upfield has taken up the pen in defence of tho aboriginal. While the remarkable Detective-In-spector Bonaparte's ostensible function in the story is to solve the mystery attending the disappearance of a hectoring jackeroo from an outback station in Queensland, Mr. Upfield actually employs the half-aboriginal criminologist on a higher mission. In his method of attacking the problems confronting Lim, the detective shows that the black is far superior to the white in dealing •with nature and human beings. The venue of the crime he investigates is not the limited space of an office or room, but the vast acres of the huge tract of land that forms the typical Queensland'station. The apparently demoniac struggle that tortures the mind of Bonaparte as he is subjected to the bone-pointing process by a native tribe involved in the investigation is a clever psvchological study. The actual ceremony of pointing the bone is merely symbolical —the real process of disturbing the mental equilibrium of the victim and eventually destroying him physically is one of thought transmission. Mr. Upfield claims for the aboriginals a high degree of perfection in mental telepathy, Mr. Bonaparte is- brought near to death's door by this terrible mental war declared on him by the natives. Deftly the author has portrayed the desperate struggle the detective makes against the native in him. The story succeeds jn vindicating the aboriginal and makes ■ him a more interesting study than any text-book could ever, hope to do. Tho detective's relentless war on tho supposed criminals and his eventual success in solving the mystery are sufficient to justify the story. It is enhanced by the diversions which serve to show the aboriginal in a light more favourable than the average Australian version of "Jackie." The mystery makes delightful reading. The story speaks eloquently for the Australian "The Bone is Pointed," by Arthur W. .Upfield (Angrus and Robertson).